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Mitch-Stuart Blog

Mitch-Stuart is one of the nation's leading providers of consignment fundraising and
incentive travel packages. Having generated over one billion dollars for over 10,000 charities, the company's unique
travel experiences and travel packages are used for auctions, raffles, golf tournaments, galas, major donor gifts
and other fundraising events. Mitch-Stuart specializes in unique no-risk travel programs that not only serve
nonprofit organizations in fundraising but provide incentives for businesses as well.

What to Auction in 2016

December 30, 2015
We at Mitch-Stuart are many things, including purveyors of great non-profit fundraising auction travel packages. What we are not are soothsayers. Just like we didn’t predict the poor-dancing “Left Shark” from the Super Bowl or that NASA would discover water on Mars, we can’t tell you what will dominate the pop culture landscape in 2016.

However, when it comes to auctioning off travel packages, we can see the future.

Looking at some of the trends that professional travel agents, journalists and others have predicted for the new year, along with information from 2015, we can figure out some of the trips that will bring in big cash for non-profits in 2016. Some ideas for your upcoming galas:

Hawaii: Of course, trips to Hawaii make for great auction items any year, but 2016 is already looking to be a busy one. Advance bookings are up over those leading into 2015, and with plenty of attraction openings (including an outpost of the world-famous Blue Note Jazz Club on Waikiki Beach), our trips like “Captivating Island Culture” and “Hawaii is a Lovers’ Paradise” are likely to garner big bids. In addition, 2016 will mark a somber, special anniversary for any of your supporters who happen to be veterans of the Armed Forces: December 7 will be the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Europe and Canada: There’s plenty of reasons to head overseas, from the culture to the food, but one current one is the conversion rates. We’ve written about this in this space before, but the Euro is currently at a ten-year low against the American dollar. But when looking to make that (American) dollar last longer, do not ignore our northern neighbors, either. One American dollar currently fetches almost $1.40 in Canadian cash, meaning that exploring Vancouver (“Vancouver’s Gateway to the Pacific”) or Victoria (“Escape to Victoria’s Elegance and Grandeur”) is even easier.

National Parks: There will be celebrations at national parks throughout the country in honor of the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, starting with the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day. There are parks near many of our destinations, but one of our favorites is the Grand Teton National Park, where your donors can float along the Snake River, hike on more than 200 miles of trails and, with our “Premier Retreat in the Great American West” package, go on a safari-style adventure.

Cruises: 24 million people are expected to hit the seas in 2016, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. It’s another year-to-year increase for one of travel’s growth industries; Just 15 million travelers opted for a cruise in 2006, and 2015’s final tally is estimated to be 23 million passengers. This could mean even more interest in one of our cruise packages, ranging from the chilly (“Alaska’s Majestic Frontier”) to the sun-soaked (“Sail the Southern Caribbean Seas”).

Multi-Generational Travel: It’s less about a single destination and more about how people want to travel, but the experts at Frommer’s saw a 20 percent jump in multi-generational travel (families, from grandparents to grandkids, traveling together) in 2015, and that number is likely to continue to grow. Bigger parties traveling, though, means bigger rooms needed for accommodations – and that’s where we can come in, with our expanded “Villas and Residencies” catalog. Whether it’s in a ten-person villa in Bali (“Pampering Balinese Sanctuary”) or a six-person setup in Tuscany, Italy (Villas, Views and the Valdichiana), the entire family can relax and enjoy some of the most beautiful destinations in the world.